More than 20 family and friends of the New Zealanders lost in the A320 accident will be in Perpignan by tomorrow.

Group General Manager International Airline Ed Sims says there are already fourteen family and friends in France and a further seven will arrive tomorrow. (NZT)

"All the family and friends are being supported by representatives of the airline's highly trained Special Assistance Team of Air New Zealanders. Everyone will be staying in the same hotel and Chief Executive Officer Rob Fyfe is personally meeting with them all and we are providing them with the latest information as it comes in from search teams," Mr Sims says.

"The Air New Zealand team on the ground in Perpignan includes representatives from the airline's emergency response team, security, operational safety, A320 fleet and communications divisions. There are also senior delegates from the New Zealand Police, NZ Airline Pilots Association and the Transport Accident Investigation Commission."

Mr Sims says Air New Zealand's airline operations staff on the ground in Perpignan are world leaders in their fields and are on hand to provide specialist technical support to French authorities if required during the investigation process.

"Meantime, it is important to note that over the coming days there will be limited information that Air New Zealand will be able to release on the search as the formal investigative process is now underway. This will see our ability to communicate developments increasingly constrained under local law."

ENDS

Issued by Air New Zealand Public Affairs

NOTE: The content of all Air New Zealand media releases are accurate at the time of issue, as stated at the top of each release. For updates on any changes, please contact Air New Zealand.

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